Deadly Decision
by Ichiban Victory
Summary: My reaction to the Slayers Evolution-R manga. When Lina sends Amelia way from the confrontation with Zuuma and Zelgadis, Amelia quickly finds herself in a deadly showdown, one sure to haunt Lina and Zelgadis for the rest of their lives. One-shot what if.


**WARNING: **_What you are about to read is dark, depressing, and not at all happy. It's my reaction to the Slayers Evolution-R manga that came out this past year. This 'what if' can be seen as a companion piece to the 'Betrayed?' story I posted up earlier this year. For anyone who has not read the manga but still wants to read this, the manga deviated greatly from the anime of the same name, mainly that at a certain point Zelgadis betrays the party by joining up with the bad guy. Lina confronts said bad guy and Zelgadis, but Amelia pleads with Lina for Zelgadis' sake. Despite his seeming turn to evil, Amelia won't give up on him. Lina doesn't want to deal with Amelia, so instead she SENDS HER AWAY from combat. The city they're in for the confrontation is currently being overrun with Lesser Demons who are attacking and killing the citizenry, so Lina orders Amelia to go tend to the wounded....by herself. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for Amelia being awesome and such, but honestly, who sends a traveling companion off alone when she's already in a bad state, in a city being overrun with Mazoku? Lina was just so stupid in the manga! (Grah! Gripe! Gripe!)_

_If that wasn't bad enough, so soon after Amelia does leave, Zelgadis reveals he was a double-crosser, seemingly betraying the party so he could get in close with the bad guy then make off with the goods (Rezo's soul jar). It was all just...anti-climatic. And yeah, of course after the battle Amelia comes back and faints because she overdid it with the magic (again, whole city being attacked, one lone healer sent out to heal people....not smart thinking on anyone's part), happy ending for all, blah blah blah. Grrrrr, it made me seethe. So I wrote this 'what if'. Again, it's not happy, but it was good therapy for me. I can't say I recommend the manga though. I'm sticking with the anime 100% on this._

_-Ichiban Victory_

-Somewhere in the city, far away from the rest of the party..-

She'd been ordered away from the battlefield for what felt like hours, Lina having made it clear that Amelia was not wanted in the fight against Zuuma and...Zelgadis. Amelia shook her head. "No! I can't dwell on that! I need to find..people."

Amelia took a moment to lean against a brick wall, feeling much more exhausted than she had realized. She'd been all over the city looking for survivors, having to sort through masses of bodies, most dead, a few not, doing whatever she could do to ease suffering and bring those caught in the attack back from death. Those she had been able to save were then led to wherever she thought they might be safe. Not knowing if the Lesser Demon were still a major threat, Amelia could only hope those saved would remain safe.

Amelia looked about for more survivors as she continued to lean against the wall. Suddenly the wall seemed like the best thing she'd ever had the pleasure to lean against. If only she could remain a moment longer...

Amelia was snapped from her wishful thinking by a low growl, looking up in time to see three Lesser Demon approaching her. She attempted to jump clear of the wall to take on the threat, but her body refused to move. She felt her stomach sink as she realized she'd depleted her energy to the point that even leaning against the wall was more than she could manage.

As the Lesser Demons drew closer, Amelia's thoughts turned to her father, friends, anyone she had ever cared for. She was only able to utter, "Forgive me," as a Lesser Demon's claws swiped down at her.

-Back with the rest of the party-

Zelgadis looked up from where he had been seated, waiting for Lina to be ready to set off for Taforashia. Pocota had rejoined the group a short while ago with Duclis (who looked and talked suspiciously like the Zanaffar they'd fought against months before), having been caught up to speed on Zuuma's fate. He kept looking to the various alleys and roads nearby, hoping that the last member of their group would show up soon. He'd not been able to talk to her since his deceiving the group, and the longer he waited to apologize, the worse his guilt.

Zelgadis finally stood and approached Pocota. "You didn't see Amelia in the city, did you?"

Pocota looked up to Zelgadis and shook his head. "No, I was too busy trying to get rid of all those Lesser Demons." Pocota turned to his large wolfish companion. "Duclis?"

"Nay," Duclis shook his head.

"No?" Lina walked over, Gourry in tow. "Where do you suppose she could have gotten off to?"

Gourry glanced down a nearby road. "Well, this place is pretty big. She might have found a lot of people needing her help, don't you think, Lina?"

"I suppose..." Lina crossed her arms, getting lost in thought. "Large city....oh, I'm an idiot! If those Lesser Demons caused as much destruction as I think they did, then of course she'd find a lot of people needing her help! And Amelia's just the type to wear herself out doing so!" Lina took off running. "Quick, we have to find her!"

Everyone searched throughout the city for Amelia. Pocota and Duclis by air, everyone else by foot. They'd not been able to come across her anywhere, and anyone out on the streets could only tell them that Amelia had been seen, but not for a while.

Zelgadis could feel his dread growing more and more the longer the time went on. Evening would be coming on soon. He didn't want to think about leaving her alone overnight. As he ran Zelgadis nearly tripped over a stone. He glanced down and noticed the stone wasn't a stone at all, but....Zelgadis stopped in his tracks, dashing back to where he'd found the amulet. He picked it up. Definitely Amelia's, and from one of her bracelets from what he could tell. He turned it over and found a shred of the bracelet itself, and on it....blood.

Zelgadis' heart stopped.

He scanned the area, looking for any sign of Amelia, anything to keep him from panicking. He even shouted out her name a few times, but got nothing in response. As the minutes passed he became more and more frantic to find her!

Zelgadis finally stepped in front of an alley and peered in, instantly wishing he hadn't. From the look of things, there had been a struggle in here. Blood was smeared all over the walls, and there were singe marks on the bricks as well. Zelgadis' heart was beating so fast he could have sworn he heard it echoing off the walls. He then spied something in the far corner, just lying in a heap. Zelgadis walked closer, nearly shouting in alarm when he realized he'd just walked over a dismembered leg. The tint of the leather boot was all too familiar to him.

When he finally reached the heap he did cry out, realizing that there was little left of her. Whatever had done this, and it had to have been the Lesser Demons running about the city earlier, had torn her apart. It was a miracle really that her head and torso were mostly intact...if one could consider that a miracle.

Zelgadis sank to his knees, unable to contain himself anymore. His shock and grief were too much, making themselves known in the agonizing screams that echoed off the walls and into the streets. Despite the bloody mess that was left of Amelia, Zelgadis cradled her gently to him.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry! I never meant for this to happen to you!" He cried hoarsely, unable to do anything else. Now he could never make things right.

The others must have heard his cries, as Zelgadis gradually became aware of someone else by his side and wailing just as loudly. Zelgadis had never heard anything so primal come from Lina, but her cries could have given a banshee a run for its money.

Neither spoke a word to each other, too caught up in their grief. Their actions had cost them one of their own, something they could never undo. Their cries echoed out far into the night. For one, they would never end.


End file.
